Gardeners in Community Development

Growing People News

VOLUME 8, NO. 1

Winter 2001-2002

Upcoming events:
GICD Annual Meeting
February 21, 2001

Project Report:

Rear Garden Project

Annual Plant Sale

April 20 21.

ACGA 23rd Annual Conference.

Gardeners Restore Our World, New York City. July 25 to July 28, 2002

Renovation of a hazardous area support from Communities Foundation of Texas new garden plots
BACKGROUND: When the East Dallas Community Garden opened in 1987, an 18 by 158 foot strip of land behind the garden was left unfenced, outside the garden boundaries. This area has been a perennial problem for us to maintain. At least twice each year, GICD organized clean-up days, with gardeners, volunteers and neighborhood youths helping to haul trash and clear the thicket of weeds. This was always dangerous, with broken glass, large blocks of shifting concrete, needles, boards with nails, discarded oil filters, animal carcasses, used condoms and other hazards. Each effort was quickly undone as new trash appeared, almost overnight. These clean-ups did not change the fact that this was an ideal place for people to dump, deal drugs, turn tricks, drink, litter, and camp, because it was accessible, shady, and hidden from the streets. Two other liabilities were that low lying land allowed encroachment of water from adjacent lots and the breeding of mosquitoes, and trees outside the garden shaded and decreased the production from garden plots. THE SOLUTION TO THESE PROBLEMS: Our goal was to renovate and transform this wasted area into garden space, so that it could be productively used and taken care of by our team of East Dallas Community Gardeners. It needed to be
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Inside this issue:

Project Report: Rear Garden Project Annual Plant Sale Announcement

A community Garden at 2 Monarch Park Tiahs Garden Recipe: Winter Melon Soup GICD Supporters Winter 2001-2002 Sustainable garden: Winter Gardening ACGA Convention 2001 Salt Lake City Fall Festival Report: Peace & Landmines GICD Annual Meeting Announcement

GICDs Annual Community Garden Plant Sale

Saturday & Sunday, April 20 & 21, 2002
at the

East Dallas Community Garden

1416 N. Fitzhugh

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by Ann Whittus

G ROWI NG PEO PLE NEWS

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A Community Garden at Monarch Park

Our East Dallas Community Garden was recently the inspiration for the mosaic mural portraying floral and fauna that graces a low curved wall built in Monarch Park, on the corner of Fitzhugh and Monarch Street in East Dallas. Its design and execution was a collaborative effort of many organizations including the Wilkinson Center, Friends of Monarch Park, Young Audiences of Dallas, (including student artists from JFK Learning Center and Robert E. Lee Elementary), Robert Bellamy Landscape Designs and Construction, Senior Citizens of Greater Dallas, Foster Grand Parents, the SMU Inter-Community Experience Program (ICE) and Safe Haven. Under the direction of Charlotte Lindsey of the Wilkinson Center, elementary students and the ICE program participants toured the Fitzhugh Community Garden for inspiration back in February. They took photographs and from them created preliminary drawings. These drawings were used as the basis for the mural design. On any fair day this spring, a passer by would find numbers of individuals volunteering their time in the park seated under an awning and applying pieces of brightly colored tile to the face of the wall. The mural was recently dedicated on a beautiful May fifteenth afternoon with a crowd of around seventy five people in attendance. GICD was represented by Don and Tiah Lambert. ***
From the Press Release of Young Audiences of Greater Dallas, 8 May, 2001: DALLAS On Thursday, May 24, at 5:00 pm, representatives from the mayors office, the city council, the Office of Cultural Affairs, the Dallas Park Board, and Dallas Public Schools will gather with community volunteers to unveil a ceramic mosaic gateway at the entrance of Monarch Park in East Dallas.... We choose the theme of A Community Garden as a symbol of a diverse community working and growing together, said visual artist Charlotte Lindsey....

Tiahs Garden Recipe:

Winter Melon Soup

1 whole 5 cups 1/2 inch 3 cloves 1 large 2 lb. Chicken, 1 to 2 lb. Water (add more if needed to cover chicken) Fresh ginger slice, crushed Garlic, crushed Yellow onion Winter Melon, peel and slice in 3/4 inch cubes

1) Put chicken in large pan, and cover with water. Add ginger, garlic, and onion. Bring to a boil and simmer for 1/2 hour, or until tender. 2) Shred the meat off the bones, and discard the bones. 3) Add the cubed Winter Melon, and simmer until tender, about 15 to 20 minutes. Add salt and pepper to taste, garnish with chopped green onion or chives. Very good for you on a cold winter day!

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GICD SUPPORTERS
WINTER 2001-2002
Communities Foundation of Texas The Real Estate Council Foundation Ann McGee-Cooper & Larry Cooper Common Grace Ministries John & Sheila Blankenship

Jeannie Barrick Fatiah Lambert Michael Schmitt Darlene Smith Jeff & Lisa Smith

Gary & Sara Ahr Mary Jane Beaman Billie M. Bobo Ethel Sirls Campbell Jackie Kiefer

Tom & Pungut Korytowski Michael & Vicki Millican Linda Marcusen Janet Newberger Amanda Vanhoozier

Suvapot Atiyawijitr H.W. Baerwaldt & Shelley Dawson Elizabeth Blessing Jerry Carlton Carolyn Bush Eldora Chambers Jane Cockrell Lisa Connaway Arthur Cressman Linda Evans Patty Frederick Sharan & Lynn Goldstein Justin & Blanche Griffin Joe & Kindra Guffey

Colette Reed Harmon Veth C. Kiv Blake Kresl Dan & Char Kunsch Mitzi Kunz Elaine Lawson Murray & Michelina Leaf Nancy O. Lemmon Virginia Lindsey Gay Mallon Lustfield Dave & Tracey Mason Jacquelyn McElhaney

Mrs. E.C. Piccola Joseph & Irene Pitt Pleasants Family James & Joanne Pratt Louise Raggio Beverly Samuels Indira Singla Harold Speigel Michael & Kasmah Sumner Lucien & Rosa Thompson Tom ThumbGood Neighbor Program Sammye Toulmin Vo Huy The & Quy Thi Carol Weinstein

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Sustainable Garden
GICDs winter gardens are abundant with vegetables because of the use of row covers and simple greenhouses. Pictured below a bed of mixed lettuce is protected by a spun fiber material called Reemay. In the Live Oak garden we see beds of mustard greens, Chinese cabbage, and cilantro, grown under poly plastic and cloth covers, which are opened on warm days and closed at night. In unprotected beds bunching onions, mint, and garlic chives thrive.

Winter Gardening
By Don Lambert, Ph.D. The crops community gardeners grow it late fall, winter, and early spring
mustard greens dill (as greens) Chinese cabbage Chinese broccoli leaf lettuce bunching onions mint cilantro garlic chives harvest: root parts of taro and canna

23rd Annual American Community Gardening Association Conference Gardeners Restore Our World July 25-29, 2002 New York City
Save the dates of July 25-29, 2002 to be in New York City for the 23rd Annual ACGA conference, Gardeners Restore Our World (GROW) and show your support for New York City and its community gardeners. Join the NYC host team, consisting of 10 local community garden organizations, along with over 8,000 gardeners managing more than 113 land trust sites and 750 community gardens in the five boroughs of the Big Apple for this exciting national event. The last time NYC played host to the ACGA conference was in 1985. Sixteen years later, this international city boasts more than 28,000 acres of parkland; 1,575 parks and playgrounds; four botanical gardens; greenways and bike paths. The conference activities will take place at Columbia Universitys Alfred Lerner Hall, located on the beautiful Upper West Side of Manhattan. Air conditioned rooms will be available in the University Residence Halls for $85 with a shared bathroom. Relive you college days and double up with an ACGA friend! The excellent NYC subway, bus, bike and rail systems will connect you with museums, 77 historic districts, Greenwich Village, Harlem, Central, Prospect, Van Cortland, Clove Lakes, Forest Park, cathedrals, bridges, theatre districts, the Statue of Liberty, Ellis Island, seaports, waterfronts and esplanades if you so choose in your free time. Outdoor barbecues, dinners hosted by community gardeners, greenmarkets, silent auctions, and a community garden film festival are only a small part of what you will experience. Internationally and nationally acclaimed speakers and celebrities will join us for engaging discussions, tours and workshops in the aftermath of the World Trade Center attack. New York Citys community gardens, parks, playgrounds and botanical gardens have all played a major role in the healing process of the city. So, save the dates and watch our website for more details and come see magical community gardens in full bloom! For more information, check www.communitygardens.org

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ACGA Convention 2001Salt Lake City

by Darlene Smith

Don and Tiah Lambert together with Darlene Smith attended the 22nd Annual American Community Gardening Association Conference in Salt Lake City, September 7-9, 2001. We arrived there with bags full of summer clothes to be greeted by a cold northern that even surprised local residents, but did not keep us from touring downtown SLC to see the beautiful flower gardens in Temple Square. Dropping temperatures moved the 1st night picnic indoors. The conference schedule, with the theme of Pioneering Self-Reliance, Conservation and Leadership Through Community Gardening, was so full of great activities and sessions that it was hard to pick. For three days we attended sessions on what other communities are doing, legal advice, gardening and composting ideas, and found opportunities to share knowledge with others. The UTAH STATE UNIVERSITY EXTENSION SERVICE, SALT LAKE CITY, THANKSGIVING POINT, UTAH G.A.R.D.E.N.S., and WASATCH COMMUNITY GARDENS, were some of the local sponsors. It was exciting to meet the star of New Yorker article Will You Mulch Me? and attend his session on Seattle area composting, including pictures of his wedding in the garden. We heard reports from our colleagues throughout North America on how community gardens bring together people and neighborhoods. We toured Salt Lake City sponsored farmers markets in city parks, where youth from local community gardens sell vegetables, farmers bring in produce, and people sell herbs grown in home gardens. We learned how other programs have struggled to get support, raised funds, and shared much about overcoming the kinds of problems we all share. The conference provided much inspiration and hope that GICD can expand to have more impact in East Dallas and also in other locations. GICD set up a display booth and brought items for the silent auction. Our table featured a photo display board, and seeds and gourds from the East Dallas Community Gardens. At the ACGA silent auction, seed from our Dallas gardens brought fierce bidding, and Tiahs Endangered Jamaican Scotch Bonnet sauce was fought over. We wanted to stay for more sight seeing, but, as it turned out, were quite happy be back home on Sept. 9th. Many ACGA members were stranded in Salt Lake for more than a week after 9/11. Looking back, Dr. John Ikerds keynote address, Sustaining Communities Through Urban Agriculture inspired us at the time, but continues to resonate as the terrorist attacks dramatically demonstrate Ikerds theme, that a true community is made up of people who care about each other and are committed to each other. Long before September, ACGA had already decided to have the next conference in New York City, and we look forward to seeing how community gardens, and caring, are helping to restore that great city.

totally cleaned by having the slabs of broken concrete, rubble and litter, and some of the soil hauled away. It needed fencing, but first several hackberry trees blocking the fence line needed to be removed. It needed new soil to fill holes and raise the grade. As a last step, we needed to build garden beds and pathways so that our community gardeners could have more space to grow vegetables. Much of this work was far beyond the means of GICD to carry out with our scarce resources, so over this last year we began seeking help from program supporters. The real breakthrough that made is renovation a success was when a proposal for the major work was accepted by Communities Foundation of Texas (CFT), covering the more difficult and expensive portions. CFT contracted to have heavy digging and loading equipment and trucks haul away several loads of rock, brick, construction materials, and debris laden soil. They had many yards of topsoil and sandy loam brought in. They had the fence moved to include an additional 2,664 square feet of land for the gardeners to use. The problem at the rear of the big garden, that had plagued GICD for many years, was finally been solved by this wonderful support from Communities Foundation of Texas. The Real Estate Council (TREC) helped by getting one of their volunteer members, Preservation Tree Service, Inc. to donate tree work that cleared the back property line. TREC grant money for garden renovation was used to buy lumber and some soil amendments. A group of Dallas County Master Gardeners helped with some of the tilling and bed construction. And, we would like to thank John Pullman for bringing us several loads of dirt to build up an area that will be used to store mulch and compost. THE OUTCOME14 NEW PLOTS AT THE EAST DALLAS COMMUNITY GARDEN: In this new garden space there are now 14 new plots. These will be used for larger plants, perennials and slower growing plants that are not compatible with market crops that have become common in older plots. GICD will use some space for plant testing and nursery. Large plants like banana, edible cannas, taro, and lemon grass, that shade and crowd sea(Continued on page 7)

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GARDENERS IN COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT

2001 BOARD OF DIRECTORS
Darlene Smith, President vacant, Vice President vacant, Secretary Joanna Hampton, Treasurer Mary Jane Beaman Jerry Carlton Ann Whitus Don Lambert

Community Garden Fall Festival: Peace and Landmines

The 2001 Community Garden Fall Festival at the East Dallas Community Garden on Fitzhugh was held on Sunday, September 30th. The date was moved up a few weeks from usual to coincide with the anniversary celebration at the Dallas Peace Center, and a campaign to raise money to clear a landmine field in Cambodia. Three local agencies held landmine fundraising events on Sunday afternoon the Dallas Peace Center, Center for Survivors of Torture, and Gardeners in Community Development. At the garden stop we had tables with volunteers from GICD, the Dallas Police Community Affairs Department, and the United Nations Association. During their anniversary year, the Dallas Peace Center is working in conjunction with the United Nations Associations Adopt-A-Mine-Field campaign, and other groups, with the aim of clearing explosive mines remaining in land surrounding villages in Cambodia. They have committed to raising $21,000 to clear landmines from an area near Spean Youl Village in the Battambang Province of Cambodia. So the familiar faces of gardeners, members of the Cambodian community, and GICD supporters were joined by many new faces. Over a hundred visitors unfamiliar with the concept of community gardens became acquainted with what is happening with GICD gardens on Fitzhugh, Live Oak and Virginia Avenue. The gardens looked great for our visitors, and the afternoon brought in good revenues by way of donations for the landmine cause. In addition to being lucrative, the festival was a culinary event, with the customary great food being enhanced with recordings of Cambodian music and fine fall weather. Ann Whitus [Editors Note: The local Adopt-a-Landmine Campaign exceed its goal, and had raised in excess of $25,000 by the end date in early December.]

STAFF
Don Lambert, Executive Director Bunyay Nhonh, Education Assistant

BOARD ASSOCIATES
Janice Adams Ethel Sirls Campbell Navy Chean La Petta Collier Jennifer Conrad Jim Hobbs Nickie R. Kan Tupa Khoun Chharveth Kiv Tiah Lambert Tori Lambert Reed McAlister Bunyay Nhonh Peter Pich Sophorn Pich Lance Rasbridge Chanda Sovan Paul Thai

Gardeners in Community Development 901 Greenbriar Lane Richardson, TX 75080 972-231-3565 grower@flash.net
For information about newsletter contents, or permission to reprint, contact our acting editor, Don Lambert, at 972-231-3565.

Growing People

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sonal cash crops like water spinach and mustard greens, will find a home in this new section. Here gardeners can grow herbs adapted to partial shade, like mint, fish leaf, gingers, and garlic chives. If all goes as planned, the gardeners will have a greater diversity of crops, and the raised beds will keep runoff water from heavy rains from flooding into the garden from adjacent properties. This renovated land has now become an assert to nurture the health of the community, and should be one of the more attractive parts of the garden this coming summer. Photo of Khmer Giant, a variety of canna that produces a large edible corm, and grows to about ten feet tall. This is one of the plants to be grown in the new rear garden plots. (Photo by Don Lambert)

Announcement! Gardeners in Community Development is holding its Annual Meeting

on

February 21st, 2002 in the board room of Communities Foundation of Texas 4506 Live Oak 6:309:00 pm We will have a short program and election of board members and officers, and welcome all who are interested to attend. If you need information please call 972-231-3565.

Become a Community Gardening Supporter

Individual or Group
Principal Supporter $100 or more ____ Organizations Individual/Family $ 35 ____ $ 25 ____

Business or Corporation
Program Supporter Garden Supporter Small Project $500 or more ____ $ 250 ____ $ 100 ____

Make checks payable to: G.I.C.D.

Please mail your contribution to:

GICD, 901 Greenbriar Lane, Richardson, TX 75080 Your name _________________________________________________________________________________________ Address ___________________________________________________________________________________________ City ______________________________________Zip ___________________ Phone _____________________

Gardeners in Community Development is a 501(c)(3) organization

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Tom Thumbs Good Neighbor Program Benefits Gardeners in Community Development

GICDs Good Neighbor Number is: 6714

The next time youre at Tom Thumb, remember to link your Reward Card to our number. Tom Thumb will pay us a percentage of your total purchases providing another way for you to donate. So be sure and use your card every time you shop!

IGIVE.COM

Another way to help GICD to is to visit the IGIVE.COM site on the internet. It is a shopping network including sites like Amazon. Once you register, every time you visit this site or one of the links with the IGIVE logo, you are accumulating donations to GICD. When you go to IGIVE.COM, it will ask you to submit your email address. The next window asks you to type in your cause (Gardeners in Community Development) and then it is verified. The next window asks for basic information and thats it. The whole process takes about a minute and you will be helping GICD without even thinking about it!

Winter 2001-2002 Growing People GICD 901 Greenbriar Lane Richardson, TX 75080

Growing People News